From Deep in the Heart of Texas

[izumiryu]

And yes, the stars at night really are big and bright...just not so much in San Antonio.

Hello, my name is Christopher Galbreath, also known under a penname Izumi Ryu. I'm currently involved in two new webcomic projects as the creator and writer of Center Lane and the script editor for Ninja Wolf Saizo.

I started writing back in high school around the early 2000s after discovering fanfiction. I just decided, heck with it, none of these things in your head are gonna happen, might as well write them. I've been writing ever since using Izumi Ryu, the name of the first character I created, as an alias. I eventually ditched the character as poorly developed as he was, but kept the name. I've also fiddled with a few original concepts, but nothing came around.

I eventually started Center Lane as an experiment on comic script writing. The main character I mulled around as a potential character within the setting of Questionable Content, an emancipated teenager that got work at the Coffee of Doom. The one thing I wanted to portray was this guy while still a minor, could easily be confused as being at least college aged. As in he could walk into a bar, order a drink and the bartender wouldn't even blink at it. I eventually scrapped that thought knowing it would never happen, but the story idea stuck. I started mulling other characters that would work around him and eventually started the concept of what's now called Center Lane.

It took me a year to get an artist to help with this one though. I had 3 offers to help develop, but all of them lost contact. After earning money from editing the script for Ninja Wolf Saizo, I eventually commissioned Rafa Lee to help kickstart the pilot at least. And for the first time, I opted to publish something under my real name. I'm currently 4 strips into Center Lane's start, but after the pilot, I'm not sure what will happen. I would like to continue working with Rafa, but affordability becomes an issue. I'll have to figure that out soon.